HSE medical staff will now find it easier to join responses to international humanitarian crises following a review by the Executive of its special leave policies, after confirming the Irish Ebola aid response was ‘hampered by red tape’.

A new Primary Care Partnership conference to take place in January will hear from numerous global and Irish experts on how Ireland can put primary care at the centre of the health service.

From next year all HSE staff will be able to avail of a facility for a shorter working year.

The State Claims Agency (SCA), which operates the Clinical Indemnity Scheme (CIS), anticipates a review into medical indemnity costs will be completed by the first quarter of next year, Irish Medical Times has learned.

Five hospitals were unaware that reporting an adverse event to the State Claims Agency (SCA) was a statutory obligation, a national analysis of the high-risk specialties of obstetrics and gynaecology designed to improve patient safety has found.

Top-level talks have been convened after one consultant surgeon saw his on-call payment rise last year from €26,000 to €334,215, it emerged last week.

The Community Alcohol Response and Engagement (CARE) Alcohol Treatment Pathways Project can serve as a way forward in the treatment of problem alcohol use, which now affects every aspect of Irish life and places huge social, health and economic burdens on society, a GP specialising in addiction has said.

The Department of Health has begun work on the development of a new National Drugs Strategy (NDS) to tackle the harm caused to individuals, families and communities by problem drug and alcohol use in Ireland, which will cover the period from January 1, 2017, onwards.

Radiographers and radiation therapists practising in Ireland have until tomorrow (Saturday, October 31) to apply for registration with CORU or risk serious consequences, the regulatory body for health and social care professionals has warned.

A number of consultants have unsigned insurance forms outstanding for several years, the HSE has said, although there is considerable variation across the system.